Legislators have approved two relatively small but significant improvements to New Hampshire’s existing school choice options. The 2024–25 state budget increases per-pupil funding for public charter schools, and a separate bill expands eligibility for the Education Freedom Account (EFA) program. Both changes will offer Granite State students more educational options starting this fall. Charter schools […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_309238400-scaled.jpg17072560Mitchell Scacchihttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngMitchell Scacchi2023-06-23 12:34:382023-08-14 16:42:43Educational choice makes small but important gains in 2023
How would you feel about being taxed to support a failing business in a city on the other side of the state? If you’d be fine with that, well, good news! Under the guise of promoting “renewable energy,” many Granite Staters are subsidizing a single business in Berlin. That subsidy could come to an end […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/Burgess-Plant.001.jpeg7681024Andrew Clinehttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngAndrew Cline2023-06-22 12:25:472023-07-28 13:25:01Would you spend $150 million to subsidize a Dunkin’ franchise? How about an unprofitable power plant?
On January 1, 2025, New Hampshire will ring in the new year as the only Northeastern state without an income tax. On that day, New Hampshire will join seven other states—Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming—as the only U.S. states that don’t tax personal income. (Washington state passed a capital gains tax […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_1296171097-scaled.jpg17072560Mitchell Scacchihttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngMitchell Scacchi2023-06-15 16:56:392023-11-17 13:05:15New Hampshire to be income-tax-free in 2025
State appropriations grew substantially this week as legislators passed a $15.2 billion state budget for fiscal years 2024–25. The budget appropriates $6.25 billion in the General and Education Trust Funds. Crafted by the Senate Finance Committee from a House version that passed earlier in the session, the budget raises total spending by more than 12% […]
The Portsmouth Planning Board did something remarkable last week. It ever so slightly loosened its iron grip on a small portion of the city’s iconic downtown. And in the loosening, a lesson fell out. Local investors want to create at 238 Deer St. a mixed-use building with 21 micro apartments. These units would be no […]
Since their adoption in 2021, Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs) have offered new educational opportunities for Granite State families. An EFA is a government-approved savings account that can be used to access a wide range of educational opportunities outside a family’s designated public school district. If eligible, parents can direct their state funded per-pupil adequate education […]
In 2021, we published a landmark study that showed how local land use regulations drove New Hampshire’s housing shortage. That study changed the conversation on affordable housing in New Hampshire, from one focused on government subsidies to one focused on regulations. This week, the Center for Ethics in Society at Saint Anselm College set the […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_2282426825-scaled.jpg17152560Andrew Clinehttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngAndrew Cline2023-05-13 08:35:012023-07-14 14:23:06NH Zoning Atlas offers groundbreaking insight into local building restrictions
Teachers unions and school officials regularly advocate for higher public school spending on the argument that teacher pay is too low. In fact, teacher pay in New Hampshire is relatively low compared to other states. But that’s not a product of low funding levels. Average public school district spending in the Granite State is is […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_2178096801-scaled.jpg17092560Andrew Clinehttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngAndrew Cline2023-05-06 08:42:222023-07-14 14:22:36Teacher pay in NH lags the national average despite $1 billion in new spending
From 2001-2019, New Hampshire public school districts lost 29,946 students, but increased spending by an inflation-adjusted $937 million, a new Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy study has found. In percentage terms, inflation-adjusted spending rose by 40% while enrollment fell by 14%. The increase in spending is even more dramatic when capital and debt spending […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_2289926773.jpg10241024Andrew Clinehttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngAndrew Cline2023-04-18 01:00:092023-04-17 21:57:06As NH public school district enrollment fell by 30,000 students in 19 years, spending rose by nearly $1 billion
The New Hampshire Legislature, in its wisdom, has decreed how much an adequate education costs. It’s right there in statute, RSA 198:40-a. Legislators wrote in three concise paragraphs that the cost of an adequate education totals precisely $3,561.27 in 2015 dollars, plus an additional $1,780.63 for students eligible for a free or reduced price meal, […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_147424472-scaled.jpg19172560Andrew Clinehttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngAndrew Cline2023-04-14 15:40:062023-04-14 15:53:35Why no one knows what an adequate education should cost
Educational choice makes small but important gains in 2023
BLOG, EDUCATIONLegislators have approved two relatively small but significant improvements to New Hampshire’s existing school choice options. The 2024–25 state budget increases per-pupil funding for public charter schools, and a separate bill expands eligibility for the Education Freedom Account (EFA) program. Both changes will offer Granite State students more educational options starting this fall. Charter schools […]
Would you spend $150 million to subsidize a Dunkin’ franchise? How about an unprofitable power plant?
ENERGYHow would you feel about being taxed to support a failing business in a city on the other side of the state? If you’d be fine with that, well, good news! Under the guise of promoting “renewable energy,” many Granite Staters are subsidizing a single business in Berlin. That subsidy could come to an end […]
New Hampshire to be income-tax-free in 2025
FEATURED, TAXATIONOn January 1, 2025, New Hampshire will ring in the new year as the only Northeastern state without an income tax. On that day, New Hampshire will join seven other states—Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming—as the only U.S. states that don’t tax personal income. (Washington state passed a capital gains tax […]
Flush with revenue, Legislature raises spending while cutting taxes
BUDGETState appropriations grew substantially this week as legislators passed a $15.2 billion state budget for fiscal years 2024–25. The budget appropriates $6.25 billion in the General and Education Trust Funds. Crafted by the Senate Finance Committee from a House version that passed earlier in the session, the budget raises total spending by more than 12% […]
When ‘market rate’ doesn’t mean ‘affordable,’ government’s probably involved
BLOG, HOUSING, REGULATIONThe Portsmouth Planning Board did something remarkable last week. It ever so slightly loosened its iron grip on a small portion of the city’s iconic downtown. And in the loosening, a lesson fell out. Local investors want to create at 238 Deer St. a mixed-use building with 21 micro apartments. These units would be no […]
N.H. eyes small expansion of Education Freedom Accounts
EDUCATIONSince their adoption in 2021, Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs) have offered new educational opportunities for Granite State families. An EFA is a government-approved savings account that can be used to access a wide range of educational opportunities outside a family’s designated public school district. If eligible, parents can direct their state funded per-pupil adequate education […]
NH Zoning Atlas offers groundbreaking insight into local building restrictions
BLOG, HOUSING, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, REGULATIONIn 2021, we published a landmark study that showed how local land use regulations drove New Hampshire’s housing shortage. That study changed the conversation on affordable housing in New Hampshire, from one focused on government subsidies to one focused on regulations. This week, the Center for Ethics in Society at Saint Anselm College set the […]
Teacher pay in NH lags the national average despite $1 billion in new spending
EDUCATIONTeachers unions and school officials regularly advocate for higher public school spending on the argument that teacher pay is too low. In fact, teacher pay in New Hampshire is relatively low compared to other states. But that’s not a product of low funding levels. Average public school district spending in the Granite State is is […]
As NH public school district enrollment fell by 30,000 students in 19 years, spending rose by nearly $1 billion
EDUCATION, FEATUREDFrom 2001-2019, New Hampshire public school districts lost 29,946 students, but increased spending by an inflation-adjusted $937 million, a new Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy study has found. In percentage terms, inflation-adjusted spending rose by 40% while enrollment fell by 14%. The increase in spending is even more dramatic when capital and debt spending […]
Why no one knows what an adequate education should cost
EDUCATION, FEATUREDThe New Hampshire Legislature, in its wisdom, has decreed how much an adequate education costs. It’s right there in statute, RSA 198:40-a. Legislators wrote in three concise paragraphs that the cost of an adequate education totals precisely $3,561.27 in 2015 dollars, plus an additional $1,780.63 for students eligible for a free or reduced price meal, […]